LXD55 Axis Lock levers

Something new LXD55 owners should watch out for..

The LXD55 mount has two thumb levers to lock and engage the drives on the R.A. and Dec axis, and the drive motor housings have recesses to allow the body of the levers to clear while in movement.
It is possible, however, for the arm of the lever to ride up into the recess and get caught; the motors have enough torque to damage the motor housings. This happened to me while slewing the scope during alignment. Fortunately, I saw this and shut the mount off before any serious damage could be done.

Meade advises that the levers need to be engaged 'finger tight' but on my mount this was only achieved when the levers were up against the motor housings.

The fix?
The easy fix is to remove the two phillips-head screws and re-position the levers so they cannot come in contact with the housings while fully engaged. There is some sort of thread locking compound on the screws and it takes a good effort to remove them. Make sure to have the appropriate screwdriver to avoid screw damage.
Removing the plastic lever reveals a square lock shaft; the lever, which has a knurled inside surface, can be reinstalled in a different position to avoid the above problem.
Tom Bassi